179.    Liability of third party appointed to satisfy tax debts

(1)     A senior SARS official may authorise the issue of a notice to a person who holds or owes or will hold or owe any money, including a pension, salary, wage or other remuneration, for or to a taxpayer, requiring the person to pay the money to SARS in satisfaction of the taxpayer’s outstanding tax debt.

[Subsection (1) substituted by section 66 of Act 39 of 2013 effective on 1 October 2012 and section 57 of Act 23 of 2015 effective on 8 January 2016]

(2)     A person that is unable to comply with a requirement of the notice, must advise the senior SARS official of the reasons for the inability to comply within the period specified in the notice and the official may withdraw or amend the notice as is appropriate under the circumstances.

(3)     A person receiving the notice must pay the money in accordance with the notice and, if the person parts with the money contrary to the notice, the person is personally liable for the money.

(4)     SARS may, on request by a person affected by the notice, amend the notice to extend the period over which the amount must be paid to SARS, to allow the taxpayer to pay the basic living expenses of the taxpayer and his or her dependants.

(5)     SARS may only issue the notice referred to in subsection (1) after delivery to the tax debtor of a final demand for payment which must be delivered at the latest 10 business days before the issue of the notice, which demand must set out the recovery steps that SARS may take if the tax debt is not paid and the available debt relief mechanisms under this Act, including, in respect of recovery steps that may be taken under this section-

(a)     if the tax debtor is a natural person, that the tax debtor may within five business days of receiving the demand apply to SARS for a reduction of the amount to be paid to SARS under subsection (1), based on the basic living expenses of the tax debtor and his or her dependants; and

(b)     if the tax debtor is not a natural person, that the tax debtor may within five business days of receiving the demand apply to SARS for a reduction of the amount to be paid to SARS under subsection (1), based on serious financial hardship.

[Subsection (5) added by section 57 of Act 23 of 2015 effective on 8 January 2016]

(6)     SARS need not issue a final demand under subsection (5) if a senior SARS official is satisfied that to do so would prejudice the collection of the tax debt.

[Subsection (6) added by section 57 of Act 23 of 2015 effective on 8 January 2016]